Solent music students benefit from prestigious partnership

Solent students have been visited by an associate professor from the prestigious Norwegian Academy of Music, in Oslo.

Andreas Sønning, as part of a two-way teaching exchange, recently lectured at Solent on creative and cultural entrepreneurship. He advised students to engage with the international community through the range of EU-funded projects available to them.

Just one of many opportunities that Solent offers its students to engage in interdisciplinary projects and collaborations, the teaching exchange is part of a partnership between Solent and the Norwegian Academy of Music that spans seven years.

Alongside the Cork Institute of Technology, Utrecht University in the Netherlands, and the Lahti University of Applied Sciences in Finland, Solent and the Norwegian Academy of Music form the European Creative Futures programme, which is designed to bring students from different backgrounds together to learn about entrepreneurship and innovation through creativity.

Later this month, Solent lecturers Bob Burke, course leader of BA (Hons) Popular Music, and Nick Long, programme group leader for Visual Communications, will be returning with Andreas to the Academy to present a programme of lectures and workshops in popular music studies, music industry practices and visual communication. This is something they are invited to do every year.

Bob said: “It is a great honour and privilege to be invited to present at the Academy again. It is one of the most prestigious music institutions in the world and it is always very rewarding to take the interdisciplinary, industry-focused education that we deliver at Solent and explore how it relates to the conservatoire training that the students receive.”

The European Creative Futures (ECF) programme has seen participation by more than 300 students – more than 50 of whom are from Solent. Originally funded as an Erasmus Intensive Programme for the first five years, ECF, due to high student demand, has been maintained as a sustainable project since 2014.

Andreas said: “With the programme we can show students that there is a future for them; not just locally, but internationally. While many have doubts about living from what they are doing, we can lift motivation, give them hope and a purpose for studying.

“The fact that students can work in an interdisciplinary, multi-national setting gives them real experience and credibility in their future careers.”

Students will have a chance to attend the next week-long programme by the ECF, which features top speakers from each of the participating institutions and visiting talks from creative arts and business luminaries. It will be hosted by Solent between Thursday 14 and Friday 22 January 2016.